A Chance at Happiness
by CharTheMander
Summary: Heather is a homeless teenager struggling to survive on the streets of the Big Apple. One day she finds a can of glowing goo and her life changes in ways she never dreamed. She's been given a second chance, what will she do with it?
1. Dumpster Diving

Dumpster Diving

_It's getting colder. I've got to find warmer clothes before the snow comes or else I'm going to freeze to death… Ugh. I'm so stiff._

Heather groaned as she slowly wriggled out of her nest of blankets, flinching when she accidentally brushed against the cold concrete her movements had uncovered. Despite the many blankets she had managed to scrounge up, it still wasn't enough to keep her body heat from leeching into the floor beneath her. Since the end of summer, Heather had even begun sleeping in layers of clothes. Every day was getting steadily colder as autumn grew closer to its end. All the leaves had fallen and the city's few trees looked like skeletons. Due to the building's many broken windows cold filtered in and made Heather feel like she was squatting in a fridge.

She looked down at her cheap watch, unsurprised by the time it read out. The beam of sunlight by her makeshift pillow had already clued her in on the time.

"9:47, huh? Guess I won't be going to school today, not that it really matters. There's no way I'm passing finals next week. I'm too far behind, but who knows? Maybe I'll just repeat the grade. Better to be a homeless super senior than a homeless high school dropout."

With that she sighed and forced her stiff body to move, talking to herself all the while. Ever since she started living like this a few months ago there was no one else to talk to. Or rather, there was no one to talk to about her situation. If she told anyone about how she was an orphan living in an abandoned warehouse, Child Protective Services would swoop in and put her in foster care.

"No thank you. The last thing I need is some stranger using me to milk money from the government. Sixteen is the legal age to drop out of school and start working, so why isn't it the legal age to be an adult, hm?"

Heather sighed again. She had already made that speech to herself countless times and she was buying it less and less. What point was there in living like this? At any time she could walk into a police station and they would put her in foster care, but Heather couldn't stand the thought of being looked down on in pity. Worse would be if they looked at her with indifference.

She shook her head in an attempt to push back her nagging thoughts. Limp hair brushed against her cheeks and neck, a reminder that she hadn't bathed in days.

Her stomach rumbled.

"Alright, since it's too late to go to school I can't get the free lunch there. Guess I'll check the dumpsters behind Antonio's Pizza, then find a public restroom to wash up in."

With a plan decided on, Heather pulled her backpack over her shoulder and set off for the nearby pizza parlor.

Living in New York City you get used to walking everywhere. And if you can't afford a taxi you learn to take shortcuts, namely cutting through alleyways and hopping fences. It had taken Heather multiple attempts to figure out how to hop a fence without ripping her clothes, but now she swung over the gate with practiced ease, pulling her oversized coat closer to her body to avoid it from catching on the metal wire. She landed softly beside her target and quietly lifted the lid open, standing on tip-toe to do it. The stench of garbage and spoiled food wafted up her nose but it didn't faze her. She had long since gotten used to the rancid smell and Heather heard her stomach growl at the prospect of food.

She leaned in with her arm bracing against the other lid and due to her short stature, her feet lifted off the ground to lightly thumped against the metal container. Heather had taken off her fingerless gloves in an attempt to keep at least one article of clothing clean. Her bare hand brushed aside the inedible trash.

It took a bit of digging, but finally Heather finally found something aside from discarded onion skins and sauce covered refuse. The ripped up pizza box on top of it had kept the worst of the garbage from coming in contact with the slightly burnt veggie pizza. She let out a whoop.

"Booyah bitches! And who said pizza couldn't be healthy? This'll last me at least two days. Oh yeah!"

She picked up the pizza to put it in a grocery bag in her back pack when she noticed a green light peeking through the garbage.

"What the…?"

Heather's curiosity piqued and she dug deeper into the dumpster. Her knuckles brushed against sticky glass. Twisting her wrist, she grabbed onto it and with some effort pulled it out. The force from yanking the thing out jostled her balance and she fell backwards with a grunt. Slightly miffed, Heather looked down at her prize. Annoyance was quickly replaced with wonder.

In her hands was a container of some kind. The thick liquid inside emitted a strong green light that shifted with the ooze. The container was a glass cylinder capped at both ends with clunky metal tops. Near the tips was a patch that changed from pink to purple in a steady rhythm. It was like nothing Heather had ever seen before, but somehow the shape of it was familiar. Her face tugged into a frown and her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out why she seemed to know the strange canister, but the answer wouldn't come to her. She gave up with a small growl of frustration.

"It's no good. I can't place it. Well, whatever it is, it'll come back to me eventually. For now I'll just keep it with me. It's got to be worth something if I can find a buyer."

She took off her grime covered coat and wrapped the container in it, then placed it carefully inside her large, military style backpack. Heather had enough layers underneath as well as a hoodie to protect her from the November chill. Not that it mattered much, these days she was always cold, even with the coat.

Her stomach growled again, reminding her that she needed to eat. Retrieving the neglected pizza, Heather broke off only two slices. She forced herself to eat the food slowly, biting into the crust first. It was a trick she learned to feel fuller faster. Once she was done, she wrapped the remaining slices in a grocery bag and made sure to put the food in a different compartment in her backpack.

Heather climbed up the gate and gently lowered her backpack to the ground, taking extra care not to break the canister within. Once on the other side, she bent down to scratch away the bits of trash that had caught on her pants before sliding her backpack on again.

She looked down at her watch. It was barely past eleven, she had the rest of the day ahead of her. Heather straightened out her clothes and took off down the sidewalk. New York City towered around her.

**A/N: I had to take down the story due to a glaring error I made in the second chapter. It hadn't been up long, so I hope it doesn't bother anyone too much.**

**Also, a heads up: the first few chapters of this story will be heavily focused on my OC. **


	2. Reflection

Reflection

_It's not even noon. That leaves me with so much time to kill. There's a gas station a few blocks down, so I guess can wash up there._

That goal in mind kept Heather from wandering the streets of New York aimlessly. Around her people and cars streamed by. Everyone had some place to be and they hurried past her without so much as a glance in her direction. The sounds of traffic and people yelling had always been the music of the city and today was no different.

Despite it still being the middle of a school day, ahead of her Heather saw a teenage girl not much younger than herself arguing with a woman who could only be the girl's mother.

"Mom it's not fair! You said I could go two weeks ago. I told you who was going and everything!"

"That was before I met these friends of yours. You're not going and if you keep arguing about it, I'll ground you."

"But, Mom I—"

Mother and daughter passed by and Heather's stomach twisted at the familiar scene. She turned around and couldn't help but stare longingly at the retreating pair. It was something she could never have again.

_Mom and I used to argue like that when we first moved to the city. I was so selfish, I never thought about how hard the move was for her, too. We stopped fighting years ago, but I still wish I had been a better daughter. I wish...  
_

Heather stood frozen in the center of the sidewalk until someone bumped into her shoulder.

"Move it, girl. You're in the way."

The man was gone before she could reply, swallowed up in the crowd. Soon enough, Heather too was carried away by the current of people.

* * *

Bells chimed behind her as Heather walked into the gas station. The man behind the counter looked up from his newspaper, spotting the girl as she approached. Heather could see the recognition in his eyes. He knew what she was, and didn't care. He was a stereotypical New Yorker in every way: overweight, balding, and totally indifferent. Neither of them said a word.

Walking along the wall, Heather contemplated swiping some food, but decided against it. The guy behind the counter would be keeping his eye on her, and Heather knew he would call the cops at the slightest provocation.

_Better just wash up and leave._

Once she was in the bathroom with the door locked, Heather started removing as much clothing as she dared. First went the hoodie, then the vest, the tee-shirt, the long sleeved shirt under the tee-shirt, and lastly the tank top underneath it all. She left her bra and pants on in off-chance that the lock wouldn't hold. Heather then pulled out a small container of shampoo from her backpack. She had found several like it in a dumpster behind a motel close by, but this was her last. Normally, Heather reserved them for school days, but she felt especially filthy and she could always go back for more.

Crouching down, she put her head under the sink's facet and used her water bottle to help wet her hair. Despite having done this many times before, Heather couldn't stop the suds from sliding down her back. With her head still dripping, Heather kept her head over the sink and used a rag and soap from the dispenser to wash herself as best she could. When she was done, Heather reached for the paper towels and dried her hair and body as much as possible.

As clean as she could get, Heather studied herself in the mirror. Tired brown eyes stared back at her. She was thinner than she used to be but wasn't dangerously skinny—not yet anyway. Her ribs were showing, but fortunately for her self-esteem, Heather's breasts hadn't been affected much by her weight loss.

Her collarbones stuck out beneath her skin and between them lay a turtle-shaped pendant. The necklace had been given to her almost a year ago as a birthday present from her mother. Its eyes were tiny green rhinestones and though it had begun to tarnish, Heather had no plans of ever taking it off.

Heather was tired and thin but, having washed, her chestnut-colored hair had returned to its naturally wavy state. As long as she could maintain some minor semblance of normalcy, Heather felt in control.

And sometimes that was enough.

* * *

**A/N: Have no fear! Turtles are closer than they appear! This chapter turned out to be a little shorter than I had hoped for, but the next chapters will make up for it. The rough drafts are finished so they should be up soon.**


	3. Something's Off

Something's Off

**MISSING CHEMICAL REAGENT**

**Due to a malfunction on a cargo plane, TCRI has lost approximately 65 containers of our patented chemical reagent. The reagent is extremely dangerous and the reward for any returned canister is:**

**$1000**

**If you have any information please call the phone number below**

The flyer was stapled to a telephone pole and in the center was a picture of a cylinder with shiny metal caps at both ends.

Heather knew she had seen the canister before, and here it was: a thousand bucks staring her in the face. A thousand bucks.

_There's so much I could do with that kind of money. I could stay in a homeless shelter for the winter, get some nice clothes. Hell, I could buy a new cellphone and get a bunch of minute cards, too... A phone! I need to call these people._

The streets weren't as busy now that the lunch rush was over, but there were still plenty of people around. She spotted a guy about to pass by her.

"Hey! Excuse me, but could I use your phone for a minute? I left mine at home."

He seemed surprised that someone had said anything to him, but he quickly recovered. He fumbled for a second then pulled out the small device.

"Uh, sure. Here you go."

"Thanks."

Heather moved away from him to stand closer to the telephone pole, punching in the phone number from the flyer as she did so. The phone rang for a moment before a strange female voice answered.

"Hello, you've called the TCRI service line. I'm Miss Campbell. What is your inquiry?"

_What the…? She sounds like a robot. I bet the higher-ups put her on phone duty as a joke._

"Yeah, I'm calling about the missing reagent? I found a canister and I'd like to know where to return it."

"Our main building is on 42nd Street between Perry Street and Claremont Avenue. However, we have temporarily stationed state-of-the-art dispenser bins throughout the city for those who would be inconvenienced by coming to our main building."

_Why is she talking like that? Is she from out of town or something?_

"Yeah, that's a bit far from me. I'm on Delancey and 23rd."

"I understand. The nearest dispenser bin to your location would be at the corner of Eastman Avenue and Laird Street."

"So, just to make sure, I put the reagent in the bin and it'll give me the cash?"

"Yes. Will that be all?"

"Uh, yeah."

The woman hung up. Heather stared down at the borrowed cellphone, indignant. She turned around to hand the guy back his phone to find him looming over her shoulder. Up close, she was able to tell that he was a bit older than she was, at least in his early twenties, a dark blonde beard stretched across his chin. Warning bells went off in the back of her mind.

Heather took a step to the side, edging towards the road.

"Well, here's your phone back. Thanks for letting me use it."

The smile she gave him was strained. He inched closer to her.

"No problem. So I was headed to this coffee place to meet up with some friends. You seem pretty cool, would you want to come with? The name's Colin by the way."

_Either he likes teenage girls, or he wants to mug me, and I don't wanna find out which. There's a subway entrance a block down. If he follows me I can shake him there._

"I'm Sarah. I'd love to, but I have to catch the train. My dad's expecting me, so I can't stick around. Thanks again for the phone."

"Hey wait!"

Heather took off. She couldn't run at full speed because of how heavy her backpack was, but she was able to maneuver past the people on the street. The sounds of traffic and other people made it difficult to hear if the guy was following her, but Heather didn't dare turn to check. She hoped that she was just being paranoid, but she had learned long ago to listen to her gut. It wouldn't have been the first time she had been chased by a creep.

That's why she didn't sleep in alleyways anymore.

Heather turned a corner and rushed down the stairs to find the subway station packed. She pushed her way through the crowd to stand behind a support column, confident that she would be camouflaged. She glanced back to the subway's entrance. There was no sign of him.

After staring at the stairs for a couple minutes, Heather let out a sigh of relief.

_There are security cameras all over the place. If that guy was planning on doing something he couldn't do it here. With any luck he'll think I took the train. Best hang back here for a couple minutes, though. Just in case._

Heather waited for the next train and walked out with the arriving passengers. Back on the street, she spotted no trace of the guy. New York City was a dangerous place, notorious for crime and its street-wise citizens. To make it in the Big Apple, a person can't afford to be naïve or gullible.

Heather wouldn't let herself be an easy target. For her, it was a matter of survival.

* * *

**A/N: I promise Turtles are coming up. The next chapter is almost done, too.**

**I'd like to play a game with you guys. It's called Name That Reference. Every now and then I'll put a TMNT related reference in a chapter. Whoever points it out wins. For the first round, I put in an easy one.**

**If you guys don't get it or don't like the game, I won't put it in later chapters.**


	4. Risk and Reward

Risk and Reward

The sun had started to set by the time Heather closed her textbook. She wouldn't be able to continue studying in the diminishing light, not that it mattered much—she had already stopped concentrating. Chemistry had always been Heather's worst subject and the material had stopped making sense a while ago. Instead, she had started watching a family that had come to the park. The parents were sitting on a nearby bench while their two children flew kites. The younger one was having a hard time keeping his kite in the air, nearly bursting into tears each time it crashed. His older brother was patient, though, and kept helping his brother get his kite back into the air. The little one would smile then and run around until his kite crashed again.

The sight made Heather smile. She had always wanted a sibling. Her mother doted on her when she was young, but there were often times when Heather had felt lonely.

Watching the children play, her mind wandered, as it had many times before.

_Would it have been different if it hadn't just been me and mom? If I had brothers or sisters, would we have been split up in the divorce? Would dad have kept visiting? Is he out there with a new family, with siblings I don't know about? Does he miss me at all?_

Heather sighed and decided it was time to pack up her things. She was sure the parents didn't appreciate her staring, and Heather had become uncomfortably cold from sitting at the picnic table for hours.

_Well, Eastman and Laird isn't far from here. I should turn in the canister before I break it. It would be just my luck to lose out on a thousand dollars and expose myself to some dangerous chemical._

Madison Square Park was at least a half hour from Heather's destination on foot. As she walked, the sky turned orange and the shadows around her grew long. Her own shadow stretched on in front of her, marking the short girl as a giant.

Ahead, Heather saw a shadow cast against the pavement, moving quickly from one building to the next. She turned on her heel, but saw nothing.

_What was that? Well… whatever it is, it's gone now._

* * *

Heather was able to spot the dispenser bin right way. It was made out of some reflective metal that made the machine seem to glow in the dim light. A middle aged woman and two burly men all dressed in business suits stood facing the machine. They stood absolutely still. They weren't walking around, talking to each other, or even adjusting their weight. They just stood there staring at the luminous bin.

_Are these people on drugs or something? What are they doing? I should've come during the day… this is starting to feel shady. _

She stopped about ten yards away, hesitated, and then called out to them,

"Hey! Are you guys from that chemical company? I need to use that thing."

All three turned their gazes on her. Heather saw that the men were perfectly identical, down to their matching suits and blank expressions.

The woman spoke.

"Don't be alarmed. We represent TCRI. We received a call that this unit was malfunctioning and are arranging its repair. Are you here about the chemical reagent?"

_Something's off about this lady… that voice, the way she talks—it's just like that robot-woman on the phone._

"Are you Miss Campbell? We spoke on the phone earlier. You told me about these bins."

The woman tilted her head slightly. Several speechless moments passed before the woman replied.

"Yes. I'm Miss Campbell. I remember now. We spoke on the phone. I'm afraid we're not authorized to make any transactions here. Come with us and you can have your reward."

The three of them began walking towards Heather in unison, their steps perfectly synchronized. Heather backed away, trying to keep some distance.

"I think I'll just try again tomorrow or something."

"I'm afraid we must insist."

_These freaks aren't going to give up, but I can't outrun them with my backpack on. I've got to get them to play ball._

Heather slid off her backpack and pulled out the canister. The glowing ooze cast her face in a sickly green light. She held it above her head.

"I don't think so. If you want it, pay me here. That's a thousand bucks—cash. Try anything funny and the goo gets it."

Three sets of eyes narrowed simultaneously at the threat. They turned to stare at each other. Some unspoken message seemed to pass between them as the two men nodded. The Campbell woman turned back to Heather and without any indication, lunged.

On instinct, Heather threw the canister and dropped her arms over her face, bracing for the impact.

It never came. There was a sudden metallic screeching, followed by a huge _crack_. Heather opened her eyes expecting a car to have crashed into the woman. Instead, at her feet lay the woman's crumpled body, flesh partially ripped away to reveal a metal skeleton underneath. Sparks flew from where her head used to be.

"Wait, so she _was_ a robot?!"

Next thing she knew, Heather was taking cover behind the techno-bin. Brilliant flashes of purple light sizzled the air around her. Peeking out from behind her cover, Heather witnessed nearly a dozen of the identical men rush out from a building.

_Where is it? I can't let them have it!_

She ducked down and frantically started searching for the reagent.

"Booyakasha!"

Heather looked up to see a green figure slam into a couple of the men. The collision tore some flesh off their faces, revealing metal skulls. All Heather could make out was a green-and-orange-blur. Whatever it was, it held the canister in one arm.

Somewhere above her a voice called out,

"Donnie, guard the girl! Raph and I will help Mikey pulverize the Kraang."

One of the robot-men pointed upwards and shouted to the others,

"Kraang, it is the ones called the Turtles! They seek to interfere with the plan that is Kraang's plan. Recover the mutagen! Capture the human!"

Another green figure dropped to the ground, positioning itself into a defensive stance beside her. It wore a distinctive purple band across its face.

_Three fingers, it has three fingers. And, a shell? What the fuck's going on?!_

The robot-men surged around the orange-stripped figure, while still more of them charged Heather and her defender. The creature guarding her gripped its staff, expertly smashing the robots to bits before they could reach her. Despite its efforts, one robot managed past.

Reaching into her pocket Heather flicked open her trusty knife. With a growl, she sprang to her feet, using her momentum to impale the knife deeply into the robot's face, as it charged headlong into her. Satisfaction surged through her when sparks flew out of the wound and the robot jerked still. A split second later it wrenched forward, slamming its heavy fists against her temple.

Heather was out cold before she ever hit the ground, the pain opening up and swallowing her in an instant.

* * *

**A/N: I promised you guys turtles, and I have delivered! Hopefully in an awesome way, but moving on.**

**Congrats to amyanime4 for winning the first round and being the only participant. You go, girl.**

**The street names Eastman and Laird are a reference to the original creators of the TMNT comics. Most of the cartoon series have paid a hidden homage to the two radical dudes. In the 2012 series, Eastman and Laird are the names of sport goods. Casey's hockey stick has Eastman written on it and the name Laird is on his hockey pads. In the 2003 series, in the episode Fallen Angel (which is like the 6th episode of the first season, pretty sure) Casey is in trouble and asks his friend Angel to get help from the turtles and to meet them at the corner of Eastman and Laird.**

**Yup. You have witnessed my true form. I AM NERD, HEAR ME ROAR!  
**


	5. Big Trouble for a Small Girl

Big Trouble for a Small Girl

Raphael yanked his sai out from the mangled chest of the last robot. The Kraang droids lay broken at their feet, with the alien hosts squirming off to find safety. There had only been a dozen of them and the brothers had quickly reduced the robot suits to spare parts. Michelangelo had already begun his victory dance when Donatello cried out,

"Guys! The girl's down!"

The other three rushed over to find Donatello hunched over the small form of the girl. She had been turned onto her back so Donnie could better study the wound on the bloodied side of her face.

Leonardo was the first to speak.

"Is she alright?"

Worry was evident on his face when Donnie looked up at his leader.

"For now, but this is a serious head injury. We need to take her back with us to the lair. With the emergency kit in my lab, I should be able to patch her up."

Mikey piped up.

"But shouldn't we take her to a hospital, bro? I mean, they're used to taking care of human injuries there."

Donnie shook his head and explained to his brother what should've been obvious.

"We can't take her to a hospital, Mikey. We would be spotted. And we can't drop her off anywhere either, because she needs medical attention right away."

Raphael crouched down beside the girl and declared,

"It's settled then. We're taking her home with us. I should be the one to carry her."

Leo nodded, back again in full leader mode.

"That'd be best since you're the strongest. Mikey, put the mutagen in her backpack and make sure to take it with you. Donnie, text April. When the girl wakes up, it'll be good to have another human around. Raph, make sure to move her head as little as possible. Let's move."

Raph reached out and carefully positioned the girl in his arms, making sure that the uninjured side of her face rested against his plastron. He pushed her light brown hair behind her ear in a futile attempt to keep it out of the blood. Raph found himself alarmed by how light she was. The girl was short but she weighed far less than he had expected. It made him angry.

"She's tiny! What was she thinking trying to go against the Kraang? Does she have a death wish or something?"

Leo looked back at him from beside an uncovered manhole in the street.

"I'm sure she didn't realize she was up against deadly alien robots, Raph."

"She had to know something was up, though. You saw her try to force those goons into an ultimatum. She should've ran."

With the girl's weight distributed against him as best as he could manage, Raph walked over to the sewer entrance. Out of the corner of his eye, Raph could see Mikey eating something out of the large bag.

"What are you doing?"

Mikey looked up from the backpack with a grocery bag in one hand. He chewed the stolen food with a guilty look on his face.

"She's got pizza in here."

"What do you mean she's got pizza in there? Who carries around pizza in a bag? And what makes you think you can eat it? Put it back, Mikey, it's not yours."

The freckled turtle put the bag back in the backpack with a hint of color in his cheeks.

"Yeah, I know but… it's pizza. You know the depth of my love for pizza."

Raph wanted to knock his brother upside the head, but had to settle for giving him a glare.

"Whatever. You explain it to her later, then. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to find out a mutant turtle ate her dinner."

Mikey looked like he wanted to say something, but Leo cut him off with an order.

"We need to get moving before somebody spots us. Let's go."

The turtles had to navigate the sewers at a slow pace. Normally, they would race back to the lair, but with the injured girl in Raph's arms, they didn't dare. The walk was long and an air of anxiety fell over the brothers from the lack of speed and the urgency of the situation. Even Mikey was uncharacteristically quiet.

Earlier, Donnie's mutagen tracker had led them to the park. It was still broad daylight and it was too risky to search the open space. The plan was to stake the place out until nightfall, then track down the mutagen. Tensions had been high. They were all worried that a family or unsuspecting child would find the dangerous substance. They were mildly relieved when the tracker showed the mutagen moving away from the park in the possession of a teenage girl. The ninjas followed her, running along the rooftops out of sight, only to watch her confront the Kraang. Leo wanted to hold back and observe, until it became clear that they were going to attack her.

Raph looked down at the girl. She was small and up close, there was a thinness to her face that he didn't like. Everything about her categorized the girl as fragile in his mind. Despite that, she had tried to stand up against the Kraang. She hadn't tried to run, even when Raph and his brothers gave her the opening she needed.

_If she had any sense, she would've ran away. She endangered herself and for what, money? If we had jumped in earlier, maybe she wouldn't have been hurt in the first place... Stupid girl._

He lost himself in thought, until the familiar sight of the turnstiles and their home beyond them snapped him out of it.

As the only one with intimate knowledge of anatomy and medicine, Donnie was the authority when it came to medical emergencies. Finally home, Donnie wasted no time in instructing his brothers.

"Raph, take her to the lab. Mikey, get me a clean rag and a warm bowl of water. Leo, you tell Master Splinter about the situation. With any luck, there won't be any brain damage, but I'll need to x-ray her."

Once in the lab, Raph had to push away the mess of beakers and papers before he could lay her down on the table. He stood against the wall to give Donnie the space he needed. Donnie powered on the machine and arranged it around the girl's head. Like most of Donnie's machinery, the x-ray was built from spare parts so it hummed loudly as tall brother examined her head. Mikey and Leo joined Raph by the wall to watch their brother at work. Donnie turned the x-ray machine off with a sigh of relief. He looked up from the screen to see his brothers staring at him expectantly.

"It must have been a glancing blow because there are no fractures in her skull. She'll have a concussion, but I won't know how severe it is until she wakes up. My guess is that she'll be fine, though. She ought to be awake in a few hours, even."

Most of the tension eased out of Raph's shoulders. Around him, he could see the relief in his brothers. Of course that meant Mikey felt he could open his mouth again.

"So it's awesome how she's going to be fine, but how exactly did she get knocked out in the first place?"

Leo spoke up.

"Yeah, I'm curious about that, too. How did she get hurt?"

Donnie looked up from cleaning the dried blood off her face and said matter-of-factly,

"She stabbed a Kraang in the face."

Leo, Raph and Mikey all cried out in unison,

"What?!"

"She stabbed a Kraang? In the face?!"

"That's what I just said, Mikey. One of the Kraang slipped past me and went after the girl. She jumped up and stabbed it in the face. Then it punched her lights out."

The four of them took a moment to stare down at the small girl in silent respect. Soon, they would have to move her out of the cold lab and let her rest somewhere more comfortable. Soon, they would have to go through her things to try to learn more about the stranger they had brought into their home. Soon, she would wake up. But for now, Donnie went back to taking care of her and his brothers let him be.

* * *

**A/N: What will Heather do when she wakes up? Will she accept the friendly turtle creatures or will she run away screaming? Tune in next time to find out!**


	6. Things Change

Things Change

For a while there was only darkness, then pain crept into her senses. It was just a trickle at first, but soon it turned into an angry throb, forcing her back into consciousness. At some point she had become aware of voices but they fell silent when she let out a groan. The left side of her face felt hot and tight and she was surprised to feel gauze beneath her fingers. Heather opened her eyes and sat up, not knowing what to expect.

She had been lying down on part of a built-in couch that formed into a lounge pit. To her right, Heather saw turnstiles leading out to subway tracks, the only reminder of the place's original function. Scattered around was the evidence of residency. Empty pizza boxes were strewn about the floor, a skateboard lay upturned next to a pinball machine, and a television sat in the center of the lounge pit. Fluorescent lights were positioned far apart along the stone walls, the light bringing out a bluish tone in the stonework.

Heather found herself grateful for the dim light as her head pounded. She noticed that despite being underground, the space was comfortably warm.

_This is an old subway station. Whoever's living here must've renovated it, they really have it made._

Her awe shifted into confusion and alarm.

_Wait, how did I get here? The last thing I remember is meeting the TCRI people. They turned out to be robots and I was saved by green people, but that can't be right... Who brought me here?_

Heather jumped up from the couch only to fall back into it as lightheadedness stole the strength from her legs. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself. She rose slowly from the couch while looking around her again.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

There was no response. She raised her voice in an attempt to keep it even. Her hand hovered over her back pocket.

"Come on, I know you're here! No one just abducts a girl, takes her underground and then leaves. Show yourself!"

A moment passed before Heather heard a sigh. She spun around trying to pinpoint where the sound came from when a familiar male voice called out to her in a reasoning tone,

"Please don't misunderstand. Nobody abducted you. My brothers and I brought you here because you got injured in our fight with the Kraang. We mean you no harm."

Her brow furrowed at the name.

"Kraang?"

"Yeah, that's the name of the alien robots that attacked you. My brothers and I defeated them and we brought you here to give you medical attention. I know that's hard to believe, but please trust me."

_He knows about the robot-men. Then that means…_

"Why are you hiding from me?"

Though Heather didn't mean to, the words came out as a challenge. A long silence fell before the voice answered back.

"Our appearances are a bit… shocking. I thought it would be best if we took our time in introducing ourselves to you. There's no getting around it now, so we'll show ourselves."

He dropped down in front of her. There was no mistaking him for a human. A faintly scarred shell covered his chest. His skin color was more of a vivid green than the purple banded one had been. He was shorter, too but still taller than Heather. Across his face was a blue mask, almost the same color as his eyes. He had no nose, only small nostrils. The lower half of his face protruded slightly, just enough to show that his skull structure was different from hers.

Heather felt the heat drain from her face and her knees gave out beneath her, plopping her back into the couch.

"You… you're real. It wasn't a dream or a hallucination. It was all real."

The turtle's eyes narrowed in sympathy and he opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off.

"Wow. We're dealing with a real mind here, guys."

Ahead of her, past the first turtle, rose another from the built-in pool she hadn't noticed. Near the left edge of his shell was a crack shaped like a lightning bolt. This one had a red mask and even though she could see no discernable lips, his smirk was impossible to miss.

"Aw, leave her alone Raph. I'd say she's handling the situation pretty well. I mean, April started screaming the first time she saw us."

Heather turned to see the somewhat familiar forms of the purple and orange masked turtles hop over the turnstiles. She noticed that the one in orange had dark green freckles as he spoke to the turtle that had defended her.

"Correction Donatello, April started screaming when she saw you."

"My point still stands."

The red masked turtle crossed his arms.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, Donnie. Just figured I'd try to lighten the mood in here. So what's your name, anyway?"

The friendly banter between the brothers had eased away most of Heather's shock, but there was still a knot of apprehension in her stomach. Her voice came out wary,

"It's Heather Mason. What— who are you people?"

The short, freckled turtle jumped into the air and flipped onto the couch beside her. The sudden proximity made Heather jump.

"I'm the totally awesome Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey. The slimy one in red is Raphael, but we all call him Raph—"

"Shut it, Mikey. You get slimy, too when you're wet."

"The freakishly tall turtle with the staff is Donatello. Donnie's like a super genius. He keeps everything working around here and he makes all our cool gadgets."

The turtle with the blue mask knelt down in front of her, making eye contact while he spoke.

"And I'm Leonardo, but you can call me Leo if you like. My brothers and I live here with our _sensei_, Master Splinter. It's nice to meet you, Heather."

"It's uh nice to meet you, too," she paused, trying to think of something to say. "So you're Italian turtles?"

Michelangelo cried out next to her, as if Heather's question was an insult.

"No! Donnie says we mutated from some species of freshwater turtles. We're not Italian!"

The stupidity of the outburst brought a smile to her face. At that moment, all traces of Heather's apprehension dissolved. Donatello sat down on the other side of her and fixed his brother an exasperated glare.

"Italian means from the country of Italy in Europe, shell-for-brains. That's where our namesakes were born. Italians were also the first people to create pizza. I can't believe you didn't know that."

Michelangelo somehow managed to blush, his cheeks turning a ruddy color.

"Dude, we've spent our entire lives down here in the sewers. How am I supposed to know geography?"

The tall turtle ignored his brother and turned his gaze on Heather.

"We've been waiting a while for you to wake up, Heather. That was a nasty hit you took. How do you feel?"

She reached up and lightly brushed the gauze on her face. Leonardo hadn't been lying about them giving her medical attention and for a second Heather felt bad about doubting them. Pain still throbbed from her temple, and while it wasn't as bad as it had been before, it was still the worst headache Heather had ever experienced.

"Not gonna lie, my head hurts like crazy. I feel like I got punched into next week."

Donatello smiled softly at her attempt to humor him. Reaching down, he pulled out a small flashlight from his belt and began rambling,

"Technically speaking, you got punched into tomorrow. That's not really saying much, considering it's barely past midnight, though. Anyway, I want you to follow the light without moving you head."

The flashlight clicked on and light stabbed into her eyes. Heather flinched and quickly squeezed her eyes shut with a whimper.

"Headache, dizziness, sensitivity to light but with no over-dilation of the pupils… Alright, I want you to stand up and press your fist into my hand as hard as you can."

Heather looked up to see Donatello standing in front of her with his three fingered hand outstretched. Around her, his other brothers leaned in, concern mixed with curiosity displayed in their features. Even the brash one, Raphael, had mild worry in his eyes from his brother's words.

Heather hesitated for a moment, but allowed the gentle turtle to carefully lift her to her feet. The palm of his hand was rough from callouses and his skin was a slightly different texture than a human's— like it was almost leathery. She hesitated again but brought up her fist and pushed against Donatello's hand with all her strength. After only a few seconds, her arm started shaking visibly and Heather could feel that he wasn't using his full force against her. She dropped her arm and looked away in embarrassment. Heather could feel him studying her face and it made her uncomfortable.

"Are we done yet? Because I—"

"Have you lost a lot of weight in the past few months?"

Heather's hands curled into fists. Unintentionally, her body language mirrored the defensiveness in her tone.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Donatello's face turned stern and Heather knew that her response was enough to answer his question. She tried to defend herself, but the turtle cut her off again.

"You have a concussion and you're clearly suffering from malnutrition. It'll take your body twice as long to recover as it normally would. You're going to have to stay here at least a couple days."

A jolt of fear ran through Heather and left her speechless. The diagnosis confirmed what she had been scared of ever since she first noticed her weight loss.

_Malnutrition…? No, it can't be. I fought so hard against this. I've been digging through trash for months and sure, there were nights where I went to sleep hungry, but I survived. He's telling me I'm malnourished… What am I going to do?_

Raphael turned to Leonardo with his mouth set in a grim line.

"Leo, I think Heather here might be a runaway. All that stuff in her backpack makes it look like she's living out of the thing. And her clothes smell like a dumpster, too." He paused to give Heather an apologetic look before continuing, "I've been knocked into enough of 'em to know. And remember how determined she was to get that money from the Kraang? I think she's in trouble, bro."

When he was done talking, Heather brought her legs up to her chest and stared down at her knees as if that could protect her from their prying. Leonardo took Donatello's place beside her. He reached out his hand as if he were going to touch her, but seemed to decide against it. His voice was gentle as he asked,

"Well? Do you want to talk about it? You don't have to if you don't want to, though."

Heather looked up to see genuine concern clearly etched in every turtle's face. She felt conflicted. On one hand, she had kept her situation secret from everyone around her. Heather felt as if revealing the truth would be a sign of weakness, that accepting whatever help they offered her meant that she was incapable of surviving on her own strength. On the other hand, Heather was tired. She was tired of sleeping on the hard ground with the cold biting at her. She was tired of being scared and alone. Most of all, Heather was tired of pretending that she was fine.

"I'm not a runaway. You have to have something to return to in order to run away. My mom, she died in May… It was an aneurysm. We were in the kitchen joking around when she just… fell over. It all just happened so fast and I... I've been living on the streets ever since."

It fell silent again. Her words had done nothing to erase the brothers' concern for her, but now their eyes shone with sympathy. Michelangelo sat down on the floor in front of her and looked up with tears starting to form.

"But what about your dad? How come you aren't living with him?"

Her vision blurred as Heather looked down at Mikey's earnest face.

"My parents divorced when I was young. I haven't seen my dad since I was eight… He didn't even show up for the funeral."

Heather's voice caught in her throat. She could feel wetness on her face and she rubbed at it with the edge of her sleeve. She had never felt so vulnerable and exposed. Her guard was down and it hurt to have these strangers behind the walls she had built.

"Your life has been difficult, child, but you've survived."

Heather turned her head to see who spoke. Behind her stood a rat as tall as a man wearing an oriental-style red robe. His small pink eyes held a sort of understanding and a sadness that made Heather feel that he could see into her soul. Along his jawline white fur swirled into the shape of a beard and his bushy eyebrows swept upwards. A broad white stripe cut down the black and brown of his face leading to a very rat-like nose. His appearance was just as startling as the turtles' had been, but Heather found herself too drained to feel much surprise.

"Oh, you must be Master Splinter. How long have you been there?"

The voice that came out of his mouth was very human and carried a noticeable Japanese accent. The voice was stern and kind at the same time and his words settled on her with a strange sense of weight.

"Long enough. And yes, I am Master Splinter. It's good that my sons have brought you here. Though you are young, you have suffered through great tragedy and hardship. You have struggled against life's misfortunes alone with only your determination to see you through. I can see that you are proud, but do not mistake generosity for pity. There is no shame in accepting help from others. If you don't allow people to help you, you will always struggle alone. You may stay or go as you wish."

Leo's voice rose in alarm at his father's words.

"But _sensei_, Heather's hurt and she has no one to look out for her. She has to stay, at least until she recovers."

Splinter closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.

"No, my son. You cannot force your help onto someone. They must want to receive the assistance you offer them. Heather Mason is free to stay here as long as she wishes. It is her choice to make."

"_Hai, sensei_."

With that said the rat master turned on his heel and walked back into his room, sliding the paper door shut behind him.

Heather turned back to find the turtles staring at her expectantly.

"What?"

Raph moved in front of her, knocking Mikey onto his shell to stand in his place. He crossed his arms and stared down at her.

"What do you mean 'what'? You heard Master Splinter, you can stay here with us if you want. So what do you want to do?"

Heather rubbed away the last trace of tears from her face and said,

"I don't really know. I'm just kind of overwhelmed, I guess. First the fight with the Kraang, then meeting you guys and now I'm being offered a home? It's too much all at once. I will say this, though. I'm not staying if I'm not wanted. If you guys have a problem with a bum staying in your place, tell me now.'

Raph rolled his eyes.

"Pfft. Is that all you're worried about? Well, I've got no problem with it and I'm sure my brothers don't, either."

Mikey sprung up from the floor. His eyes were large with excitement and he put his hands together, pleading with her.

"C'mon! Please stay? It's been so boring being stuck with these guys for the past fifteen years. C'mon, I'll let you borrow my comics and everything if you stay."

Heather smiled in appreciation. Donnie sat down beside her again and leaned back. One green hand was cupped up in front of him and he gestured with it while he spoke.

"I'm with Mikey on this one. It would be nice to have another person staying here again. Oh, I should probably mention that a human friend of ours, April, stayed here for a few weeks so we have everything girls seem to need. There's also a spare room for you to stay in, if you want."

Leo placed his hand on Heather's shoulder.

"See? We really do want you to stay. Even Raph. You don't have to decide now, but I really do think you should stick around, at least until your concussion's gone. Are you still in school? I mean, I still want you to stay here, but I just want to know if I should feel bad about trying to keep you from your education."

_He's asking me to stay, but feels bad about asking me to skip school?_

She let out a small chuckle.

"Don't worry about it, I don't think I'm passing this trimester anyway. And I guess there are worse ways to spend the weekend than hanging out with turtle-people." Her eyes squeezed shut as a yawn forced itself upon her. "Hey Donnie, is it okay for me to fall asleep? I feel really drained all of a sudden."

Donnie smiled wide at her using his nickname and Heather saw that the tall turtle had a dorky gap in his teeth that was somehow endearing on a turtle.

"Well, you'll need to be woken up every couple hours to reactivate brain activity, but you won't go into a coma or anything. That's just a medical myth. If you want to sleep though, you might have an easier time in a real bed. I'll show you the spare room."

Once again, he reached his hand out to her to help her up. This time Heather didn't hesitate in letting him assist her. She stood there for a moment as gratitude washed over her. For the first time in months, she was surrounded by people who cared. Heather felt a smile spread across her face.

"Thanks guys."

* * *

**A/n: There are a few things I want to say:**

**First off, my sympathies go out to any readers who have lost a loved one. I know there isn't much that I can say, but I hope you find peace.**

**Second, this chapter has two references. The second one is hard, so I'll give you a hint: it has to do with one of the lines of dialog.  
**

**Third, it'll be a while until my next update, but I'm working on more chapters so rest assured more content will eventually come. **

**Lastly, I'd really appreciate it if you guys would review this chapter. I really poured my soul into this one and I'd like to know how I did. Thanks for reading.**


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